Welcome to our series where we interview people in a wide range of roles across different think tanks and ask them the how, why and what their job entails. This interview is with Samuel Cruickshank from the Institute of Economic Affairs.
What is your formal job title?
Head of Education at the Institute of Economic Affairs
How did you get into think tanks?
I was 5 years into my career as a software engineer back in Australia. I then went back to university to study economics and finance and that was when I fell into the libertarian rabbit hole, reading lots of FA Hayek, Mises, Friedman etc. I then got accepted into the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation student scholarship programme and after 1 year of that, they sent me to the IEA to complete the General Internship. I loved it and when I was offered a job, originally in the operations department, I moved over.
Was this always what you wanted to do?
Not at all, I didn’t even know what a think tank was until I came here for an internship, but I instantly fell in love with the job and now I can’t imagine doing anything else.
How does a typical day start for you? And at what time?
Generally, between 9-10am is when I start and I usually finish between 6-7pm. We normally have a quick meeting at 10am with most of the staff to run over what’s happening over the next couple of days. I will also often check in with those who work in my department.
What do you enjoy most about working at the IEA?
I love helping students who are half my age but twice as clever go on to do amazing things in the liberal think tank space. Seeing someone go from being a student or intern, to working in a think tank, speaking on TV, and spreading the message to others is what makes my job feel worthwhile.
What does a typical day look like for you?
In Education the days can vary. Most days I will be doing admin work, maintaining our database of alumni, planning and running events, writing board papers and managing budgets. However, there’s also a lot of speaking with students and management of interns.
What excites you most about your work?
Feeling like what I’m doing is important. I truly do believe that liberal policies will lead to a more prosperous society where more people can achieve the best life possible. So being a part of a think tank that provides the ideas and concepts for how millions of people can help themselves is what drives me to keep working here.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
It’s quite easy to feel like you don’t belong. Working with people who are incredibly intelligent and who’ve studied at some of the top universities in the world, going on TV as young as 10 years old, it can be daunting. But that’s also what’s so fantastic, as the saying goes ‘if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room’. Working in a think tank, you are certainly never the smartest person in the room, and that’s wonderful.
Can you think of one thing in particular you have learnt since starting this job?
Probably managerial skills. Previously I just worked on my own and managed my own project. Now I have to look out for others and help them develop, while achieving our department goals.
Which 3 skills do you think are essential for success in your role?
- Being entrepreneurial, while not a hard requirement, think tanks want people who come up with crazy ideas that change the world, and make them work.
- Communication. It’s a very people facing job in Education, so you have to be able to meet people where they are, understand differences in knowledge or life experience and communicate your arguments effectively.
- Task management. As opposed to being focused on one large task, your day is split between a large number of smaller tasks, which may have nothing in common. When I worked in operations, you might go from dealing with finances, to event management, to developing our CRM, to fixing broken windows.
What tools or technologies do you use most in your job?
For me it would be our CRM and task management software, Beacon and Monday.com respectively. I personally have a terrible memory, so I find Monday.com incredibly useful for jotting down all of my tasks and putting it together to track progress for larger projects. It also helps automate many of the small parts of my job. Beacon is our CRM and that’s how we keep track of event attendance, alumni etc. This is vital for tracking long term department performance.
How do you balance work and personal life?
Honestly, that can be a bit tricky in London, but moving closer to work has really helped. I think you also need to set rules for yourself, it’s very easy to attend events 5 nights in a row when working in Westminster. It can also be hard to have a personal life as the wages are comparatively very low (compared to my previous career) and London is very expensive, making simple things like going out for dinner a rare treat.
How much of your day is spent in meetings or working with people vs individual work?
Probably about 1 hour a day is spent in meetings and about half spent working with others and half working alone.
What would be your one piece of advice to someone considering a similar career?
If you want to love your job and have a real passion for the ideas your think tank is advocating for, there’s no better place to work than a think tank. If, however, you are driven more by money and want to live a more comfortable life, perhaps working in a think tank is okay for the short term, but may be difficult long term.
